How To Install Your New Itchin’ Post

Itchin’ Post Installation Instructions

Terminology

Length or Lengthwise means that we’re referring to the long sides of the Itchin Post pad. When mounting a pad you turn the label so it’s read up and down.

Width or Widthwise means that we’re referring to the short sides of the Itchin Post pad. When mounting a pad you turn the label so it’s read from left to right.

Tight has two meanings. Tightness of the screws/washers holding the pad onto the surface. Tight fit of the pad around a post or corner.

Introducing Itchin’ Post pads to your animals

Introducing your animals to the Itchin’ Post pad could be helpful to let them know it’s for them to use. Let them see it and give positive reinforcement so they get the sense they can be comfortable around it. Rub the pad on your animal to get their scent on it. Put Itchin’ Post pads in places where your animals already hang out.

Choosing a place to install Itchin Post

Many of our customers ask where they should mount Itchin’ Post. Our response usually has many answers depending on the type of facility you have. Small homeowner ranches may have more places than a commercial type facility, but both are surely candidates for some good rubbing surfaces for our friends.

Where do your animals rub? Walk around your pasture, barn and stalls to look for signs of wear on wood, trees, fences, gates, posts and metal siding. Do you see dents in the siding or light/dark spots on wood that don’t match the other wood? Do you see hair sticking out of pieces of splintered wood here and there? Are there any metal edges, exposed nails or screws near the spots your animals hang out? Metal corrals, feeders, well pumps and other manmade structures are usually ideal spots for them.

Mount Itchin’ Post anywhere your animals rub or scratch in pastures, barns, and corals. The flexible pad can be wrapped around corners, square or round posts, on fence rails and secured using the pre drilled holes with twine, zip ties or string to most anything. You can also place several together flat against stall walls.

Most Important: Whatever you do, make sure to mount Itchin’ Post on something sturdy enough to stand the pressure your animal can create when pushing. We’ve had Itchin’ Post mounted to 4×4 posts on the corner of run in shelters and free standing 4×4 posts for “Jake” (a 2200 pound English Shire Horse) to rub on since 2007. He’s never caused any damage to the posts. Seeing what your horse is already using will help you understand what is necessary.

Deciding what fasteners to use?

DON’T USE NAILS and DON’T PULL ON THE HOLES!

Screws with washers are our first choice for mounting Itchin’ Posts to wood, metal and concrete surfaces such as block walls. Use a rounded head, Philips #10 size screw – length is determined by your installation – about three quarters to an inch long works for most installs. However, when mounting to a plywood surface, use a screw long enough to go through the plywood and into the frame of the structure to ensure pressure is put on the framework, not the plywood. This also depends on the size of your animals. I’ve used screws into plywood successfully for goats.

Don’t over tighten the screws. Snug tight enough so that the Santoprene is being dug into a little by the washer.

Zip Ties can be used to mount Itchin’ Post pads to chain link fences and other spots where you’re able to position the edgy part outside of the animal’s reach. Wrap the end of the zip tie with electrical tape or something to cover the sharp edge. DON’T PULL ON THE HOLES… Wrap the pad around the post with your hands. Secure one hole then pull the other side around with your hand. Holes aren’t designed to pull on!

Twine can be used to mount Itchin’ Post pads to a variety of spots such as trees. Using twine prevents screws from causing damage to the tree and the Itchin’ Post prevents the animals from rubbing the bark off, which will eventually kill the tree also.
Bailing wire is not a great choice since the ends are sharp and it rusts after awhile. If you don’t have any other alternative, please make sure that you position the cut ends outside of the animal’s reach to prevent injury. DON’T PULL ON THE HOLES… Wrap the pad around the post with your hands. Secure one hole then pull the other side around with your hand. Holes aren’t designed to pull on!

Installing a new post?

Installing a new post for your animals is a good solution for different reasons.

The number one reason we install new posts is to STOP an animal from getting to something unsafe or something they can damage. For instance, one horse found a water well pump handle to rub his rump on. It actually broke off and required repairs. After that, a 4×4 post was mounted to block off access, and then a couple Itchin’ Post pads were mounted on it to provide a safe spot to rub on.

Our M.O. for mounting a post:

Purchase an 8 foot long 4×4 or 6×6 and some concrete mix. Dig your hole two to three feet deep, mix concrete, insert post, and then fill the hole. Use a post level tool (or a friend’s eye) to ensure your post is straight. Round posts work, but they’re hard to find at the local hardware store these days and not milled very consistently. That means the post is usually larger in some spots than in others and you won’t get the tight fit all the way around.

Do you need to mount Itchin’ Post so it fits tight?

No, but you don’t want it too loose either. Our definition of loose is: the screws aren’t tight enough to hold the pad in place.

The other definition of tight…

The idea behind a loose mount or a “loop mount” is as follows. When you wrap the Itchin’ Post pad around the surface and it doesn’t fit exactly around, or it sticks out an inch or two. Yeah, that’s okay, it creates a “loop” . One example of such a mounting situation is a 4×4 post that’s up against a wall. We have them in the middle of our run in shelters on the back wall. Only three sides of the post are able to be screwed to. When performing an install on one of these, we butt the ends up where the 4×4 meets the back wall and screw right into the 4×4. The pad sticks out a few inches so when the animal pushes on that spot, the amount of massage pressure can change giving the animal a lighter massage or heaver one.